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Oleg Deripaska's suit alleged that an AP story published two months earlier falsely implied that Deripaska was paying Paul Manafort for work aimed at advancing the goals of the Russian government and Russian president Vladimir Putin. | Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo

Russian oligarch Deripaska drops libel suit against Associated Press

By JOSH GERSTEIN

12/06/2017 04:12 PM EST

Updated 12/07/2017 02:42 PM EST

Thu Dec 07 14:42:59 EST 2017

A Russian oligarch whose business dealings have come under scrutiny by investigators probing Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election has dropped a libel suit against The Associated Press.

Lawyers for aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, who worked closely with indicted former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort several years ago, joined with the news service Tuesday in a joint court filing dismissing appeals of a judge's decision in October tossing out the defamation lawsuit.

Deripaska's suit, filed in May, alleged that an AP story published two months earlier falsely implied that Deripaska was paying Manafort for work aimed at advancing the goals of the Russian government and Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The suit also said the article created the false impression that Deripaska's dealings with Manafort were intertwined with the Trump campaign, despite the fact that the two men ended their work together by 2009.

U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle dismissed the lawsuit, finding that the Russian businessman was "a limited purpose public figure" under U.S. libel law. That determination meant Deripaska needed to plausibly assert that the AP knew its story was false at the time it published it, something the judge found the complaint in the case failed to lay out.

Both sides appealed, with the AP objecting to a ruling from Huvelle that denied the news outlet the right to recover its attorneys fees under a D.C. law aimed at discouraging lawsuits designed to mute public debate.

The notice filed with the D.C. Circuit Tuesday dropping the appeals offered no explanation for the decision, but said both sides had "agreed" to dismiss their appeals.

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AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton welcomed the development.

"The Associated Press is pleased that the appeal has been dismissed. As we have said, we stand by our reporting and we will continue to pursue important stories of public interest," Easton said Tuesday.

Easton added later that there had been no settlement or payment by the AP.

"There was no settlement or agreement between the parties," she said. "Deripaska unilaterally dismissed his appeal, and upon hearing it, we agreed to dismiss ours and close the case."

Lawyers for Deripaska, Jonathan Schiller and Jonathan Sherman of law firm Boies Schiller, did not respond to requests for comment. A Moscow-based spokeswoman for Deripaska did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Since the suit was filed, several developments may have made the litigation less attractive for the Russian oligarch.

In September, The Washington Post reported that while Manafort was managing the Trump campaign he urged an associate to set up a briefing for Deripaska, in what appeared to be a bid to collect money Manafort believed he was owed by the wealthy Russian. It's unclear whether the offer ever reached Deripaska.

In October, Manafort and business partner Rick Gates were indicted on charges of money laundering and failing to register as lobbyists for Ukraine. The indictment obtained by special counsel Robert Mueller claims Manafort laundered and hid tens of millions in income from their overseas work through a series of offshore companies. Deripaska was not charged in the case.

Manafort and Gates pleaded not guilty to the charges. No trial date has been set.